The Fox Lady's Jade
by WhiteMage1
Summary: An original folk tale based on the mythology found in the novel _The Jade Peony_ by Wayson Choy


Jade Peony Creative Piece – Writing #2  
  
""Half the Jade in Chinatown is made from bits of bone and flesh…the other half is made of blood.""  
  
The Fox Lady was a demon, skilful and cunning in the ways of her evil, but easily tricked if one knew her weaknesses. She was tricky to deal with and difficult to uncover, but she was a demon and mothers knew how to guard their children from her.  
  
The Fox Demon learned how to change her shape to fool little children, who she would devour for her meals, but she could not change the shape of her tail. She liked the sweet flesh of well-fed children better than the taste of anything else and would always do whatever it took to make a catch. Her favourite disguise was that of an elderly woman, a helpless grandmother. She would beg for a small child's assistance to cross a stream or to help her reach into a deep sack of candy. A ruthless character, with eyes that grew satisfied and delighted when children could not see the danger, whose teeth would drip with saliva and whose tail would wag impatiently as her meal drew nearer.  
  
But a demon hunts its chosen prey even as a man stalks his in whatever manner is best suited to him. A demon too, can then feel regret and even mourn that which is her prey.  
  
All prey has a chance to get away; just as a gazelle may outrun and outsmart a lion, a smart child may expose and outsmart the Fox Demon soon enough.  
  
~~~~~  
  
There was a very smart child, who was also the daughter of a wealthy family, who lived in Old China. She was a very smart girl, despite being only a girl-child and no heir to he father's fortunes. She grew up well kept, but her status would always be beneath that of her elder brothers. While they were brought up to run their own fortunes, this daughter had time to herself, when she proved herself quite capable of escaping her guardian's "watchful" eye. She wandered by herself throughout the market and into the forest beyond, stopping to watch fish often as they passed beneath a bridge that spanned a stream outside of her village.  
  
She had heard of tales of the Fox Lady, of course, as a story to frighten children into behaving, but she never feared any danger. The Fox Lady was meant to keep her brothers in check, for if they were so much more important, then why should the demon bother with someone of lesser quality?  
  
However, the Fox Lady's appetite was insatiable and Daughter was no less of a meal than any other child. Fox Lady had to keep moving because as soon as someone saw her tail, the game was up and she could eat no more children while still within the gaze of those who knew her secret. Travelling from village to village, she came upon the bridge. Her keen eyes spotted the child standing there, a child whose bones looked very crunchy and whose flesh looked very sweet: Daughter.  
  
As usual, the first step was to get nearer. She had grown more careful and cunning over her many centuries, though no less hungry, and approached the situation as cautiously as she could. She crossed the bridge, the soft swishing of the tail beneath her skirt sounding, for the moment, like the swish of the fabric itself. Fox Lady stood by the side of the creek and looked into it, watching the reflection of the girl, though she seemed to be watching the fish.  
  
Daughter ignored the old woman at first, but instead was fascinated by a large, green turtle that had never been there before. It did not bask in the sun like all other turtles she had seen, but instead lay in the shade halfway within the shadow of the bridge. It had been looking back into her eyes, but when the old woman had started watching the water, in the absent way old ones were apt to do, the turtle had turned its beady black eyes toward the old woman instead of Daughter. The girl followed its gaze, but couldn't comprehend what it was looking at.  
  
A while later, the Fox Lady left, inexplicably.  
  
Daughter was still looking at the turtle, as it seemed a strange green and something about it caught and held her attention. She found its keen, black eyes glittering back at her once more. "What did you see, Turtle? There are many old women around this village," Daughter said to it.  
  
"Next time you see her, look at her reflection and do not let her near. She is no ordinary old woman, but a demon in disguise," the Turtle answered, its beak clicking shut after every word, clipping its syllables like a parrot.  
  
Daughter's eyes widened and she could see that this was not ordinary turtle. Not a turtle, not a creature, in fact, but a god. Only gods could speak as this turtle had. She nodded mutely, staring down the path the old woman had taken.  
  
~~~~~  
  
However, the next time Turtle was not there to help her. Daughter, being used to doing what she wished and, being unused to being spoken to by gods, had forgotten to heed Turtle's warnings. It was only a matter of time before the Fox Lady's teeth were once more stained with crimson blood.  
  
  
  
As blood dripped from white fangs, tears flowed from the clever eyes of the Fox Lady, the demon in disguise. Another child, another innocent child, gone to her ravenous hunger. It was a hunger that consumed her, which she could not escape. The Fox Lady was an unfortunate soul, cursed as a demon with insatiable hunger for children. She wept, but as she licked the blood from her teeth she whispered a prayer. Turtle heard her and came to her, and told her that if she took his body, she could weave the bones and blood and flesh of the children she had eaten into his shell, so that they would live forever, for he was the god of everlasting life. But the Fox Lady could not eat him, since she only hungered for children, and instead, the Turtle took a piece of his shell and gave it to her. It was a thin, slender piece of shell and when the demon fox took it, Turtle disappeared, gone back to his lair to sleep until his shell was whole again.  
  
The Fox Lady laid the shell in the blood of Daughter and wove, weaving her tears together with the blood and bones, weaving the flesh in with the regret she felt at something she must do over and over again. When she was finished, the shell was no longer a shell, but a piece of jade that was smooth and absolutely flawless. The jade shone, yet its shine was not one of brilliance, but of sadness as much as it was of beauty. The Fox Lady took the slender jade stick and put it in her hair, a constant reminder of what had to be sacrificed for her to live. Though she would kill and kill again, the souls of the children would be kept forever in the jade she wore in her hair. 


End file.
